The BB&T Data Center

Inquiring minds want to know: what’s the story with that huge BB&T building being constructed in Zebulon? Well, we’ve got some answers for you. According to an article written by Amanda Hoyle, of the Triangle Business Journal,

From BB&T spokesman David White:

• The $89 million data center facility expects to employ between 20 and 30 people at the new facility when it opens: a combination of new and existing positions.
• The building is a 150,000-square-foot facility on 50 acres, land owned by BB&T.

Image source: bizjournals.com http://bit.ly/1OJ4aaL

BB&T CEO Kelly King told The Wilson Times newspaper in Wilson that the Zebulon data center would not impact the bank’s operations or employment base in Wilson. Instead it would serve as a backup to its facility in Wilson in case of natural disaster.

“It’s a data center so it will be a fairly large building with a lot of computers in it but with very, very few people,” King said. “It’s what we call a lights-out data center. It’s not going to have any direct impact on Wilson.”

Zebulon Planning Director Mark Hetrick adds that the site plans submitted to the town also include details for a future second phase that could expand the data center facility by another 100,000 square feet of space for a total footprint that measures 250,000 square feet.*